Fire Star Press: classic television

Monday, March 23, 2020

Wash your hands, Roger - Vintage Lava soap commercials by Kaye Spencer #classictelevision #firestarpress ##vintagecommercials #handwashing

In these crazy-scary days of global health concerns, we have a heightened awareness of the importance of washing our hands to prevent and/or slow down the spread of germs and viruses. Here is a brief history of a soap that was a staple in my house when I was growing up. Whether washing with it retarded the spread of disease is unconfirmed. This soap is

Lava Soap — Whatever you’re into, Lava gets it out.

Pertinent Lava soap facts:

heavy-duty hand cleaner
originally produced in soap bar form
developed by Waltke Company of St. Louis, Missouri in 1893
contains ground pumice (hence the name 'lava')
moisturizers added in recent years
original beige bar without moisturizers is no longer manufactured

comes in green wrapper,red wrapper, and liquid

This advertisement from 1950 promises that washing with Lava soap prevents polio. Unfortunately, there was no documented, scientific proof of this. (More HERE)

Here are our vintage television commercials extolling the advantages of washing with Lava.

Lava Hand Soap Commercial c. 1965

Lava Soap – “Wash Your Hands, Roger” (1960s or 1970s – conflicting sources information)

Lava Soap c. 1989

Lava Soap c. 1990

My dad and grandpa washed with Lava soap to remove dirt and grease. It worked well. What about in your house? Did your family use Lava soap?

Until next time,

Kaye Spencer

Stay in contact with Kaye—

Resources:

Lava soap information—

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_(soap)

Website: https://www.lavasoap.com/

Vintage Advertisement—

Pinterest. Etsy.com. Lava soap vintage ad c. 1950s. Accessed 2020.03-21. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/356136283019260162/

Vintage lava soap image—

Pinterest. rakukaren.com. Vintage Lava Soap image. Accessed 2020.03-21. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/349521621052204480/

Monday, January 27, 2020

Sing Along with Mitch by Kaye Spencer #classictelevision #vintagetelevision #firestarpress

Fifty nine years ago today — January 27, 1961 —

Sing Along with Mitch (Miller) premiered on television. The show ran from 1961 to 1964. Mitch Miller was, by anecdotal accounts, a friendly, gregarious, and compassionate man who, in his role as a music executive, had a hand in the early careers of Tony Bennett, Patti Page, Frankie Laine, and Rosemary Clooney¹.

I was six years old in 1961, and I loved this show as well as two other television shows of the same era: the Lawrence Welk Show and the Ed Sullivan Show. My parents and grandparents watched these programs, which meant I did, too. Sing Along with Mitch is a warm fuzzy memory from my childhood.

Miller on Sing Along with Mitch, 1961²

According to Wikipedia³, Mitch Miller was born on July 4, 1911 and he died on July 31, 2010. He was played the oboe and English horn. He was also a conductor, record producer, and record industry executive.

The Sing Along with Mitch television show started at a one-episode program on NBC’s show, Startime. It soon evolved into a weekly program that is described as a community sing-along program that Miller hosted.

All I can say is, they don’t make music or family television programs like that anymore, and it makes me sad.

Here are two YouTube videos of songs from the show. The recordings are scratchy, tinny-sounding, and dated, and I adore them. I hope you enjoy them, too. The first video is eight minutes long. The second is nine minutes long.